The putting and the putting stroke are baffling parts of the game of golf. The purpose of this invention is not to make everyone a good putter but to provide the golfer with a club which when properly adjusted in attitude, face balanced, and locked in the resulting position, will provide a putter customized to the individual golfer's needs and desires, and which will give him the confidence required of all good putters.
Up to the present time in the United States Golf Association has declared an adjustable club illegal for tournament play and generally these rules have been adopted by each individual golf course, both public and private, as the rules for play for the members and the everday golfer. This rule has been made necessary to rid the game of golf of gimmicks in which the angle of the striking face to a single club head or the angle of the shaft could be adjusted at any particular time and for any stroke, from a putter to a nine iron. The customized nature of the present putter is such that it does not fun afoul of the Rules of the United States Golf Association, but on the contrary enforces and enhances them. All adjustable positions are permanently locked before the putter is ready for play.
A special reason for making the attachment of the shaft to the head of this putter with a ball and socket joint is to permit the golfer, under the direction of the resident Golf Professional, to position the shaft with respect to the head so that the relationship or attitude can be made to the golfer's own personal requirements. With the attitude set the club is then face-balanced to customize the putter to the individual idiosyncrasies and desires of the user. Once the final face balance is determined, the setting is made irreversible, and in the meantime the putter is not in usable playing condition.
There are many advantages arising from these features, but one of the main ones is that for the first time the golfer is provided with a putter suited to his personal requirements to give him the confidence to putt well and improve his game. This applies to professional golfers and all the way to the once-a-week duffer.
A truly unexpected result is that face balancing enlarges the perfect hitting spot - "the sweet spot", so that the ball may be struck near the toe to near the heel, along the face without diverting the true line to the cup. In other words, a bad putt (away from "the sweet spot") becomes a good putt along the line to the hole. One does not have to hit a perfect putt on the striking face 27 in order to have the ball roll true on the line of the putting stroke. This is another of the great advantages of this particular struction.
Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity, economy and ease of assembly and disassembly also such further objects, advantages and capabilities as will fully appear and as are inherently possessed by the device and invention described herein.
The invention further resides in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and while there is shown therein a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that the same is illustrative of the invention and that the invention is capable of modification and change and comprehends other details of construction without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.